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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Eddie Papa's American Hangout - Livermore, CA

I rarely give out 1-star reviews, but I also rarely am told something on the menu is fresh and it isn't AND have very slow food and bill service AND get served awful food all in the same restaurant. Today, we stopped to eat at the new Eddie Papa's American Hangout in Livermore, across the street from the movie theaters and in the location previously known as Movida (Lounge)...and I predict that one day, Eddie Papa's in Livermore will follow their footsteps and close down, too.

First of all, Eddie Papa's didn't change the decor or furniture when they took over Movida. It doesn't fit the Eddie Papa's image at all...in fact, it's a funky, tasteless combination of upscale, hip, swanky lounge decor and a casual, All-American menu. Secondly, the food at Eddie Papa's in Livermore doesn't live up to the prices they are charging. Instead of paying $10+ dollars for a mediocre burger here, why wouldn't anyone walk down the street to the Riata Diner or First Street Ale House? You get a MUCH better quality burger and WAY better french fries for a few dollars less. As far as the $15-$20 entrees on Eddie Papa's menu, I wouldn't dare try those if they can't even make a decent turkey sandwich. You're better off getting one at Quiznos or Togo's...even Subway makes a better one...jeez!

Our server at Eddie Papa's in Livermore was a tall female with reddish hair and she was friendly when taking our orders and answering a question I had about their New England Turkey sandwich: "Do you use fresh cranberries in the cranberry citrus compote?" However, when she responded with an enthusiastic, "Yes, of COURSE they're fresh cranberries!" I later found out that she lied. They were absolutely NOT fresh cranberries.

It was irritating to sit there at Eddie Papa's in Livermore and wait...and wait...and wait to get our food, especially as we saw that most of the people in the restaurant were also sitting there and waiting...and waiting...and waiting. We saw one table get their food before ours arrived, but there were several tables filled with hungry onlookers.

My New England Turkey sandwich was a complete fail...with its shredded lettuce, canned cranberry sauce that had been pureed and even a sloppy cranberry sauce thumbprint on the top of the bread! Did Eddie Papa's have a 5-year old back in the kitchen making my sandwich? The sweet potato fries, btw...are actually soft-fried yam strips. They weren't very good, either, but even they tasted better than the sandwich.

According to my husband, the only thing good about his New Mexico burger was the meat. The bun was hard, the bacon was soggy, the cheese was barely melted and there were only a couple of jalapenos in the entire burger! Oh, and his comment about the shredded lettuce was, "WTF, I didn't order a Big Mac!"

As if things couldn't get any worse during our first dining experience at Eddie Papa's in Livermore...we also sat there and waited for a long time to get our bill. Our server never came back, so we asked the gentleman who had refilled our drinks previously to please get our bill. He cleared our plates and 5 minutes later, after no one showed up to deliver us the bill, we just left cash on the table and took off...never to return to Eddie Papa's in Livermore again!

2 comments:

Haha, once again these person nailed it, same exact experience, with the same result, these place is a no go unless you like pretty pictures in menus and your taste buds aint working. ohh yeah tell them to fix their rockin tables o/s I had to hold my side of the table the whole evening.Its a shame cause you can tell is got a little potential, but lack of attention to simple details gonna kill them.